Rudy and Sully: A joyful anniversary in a challenging year

Stories | Rudy and Sully: A joyful anniversary in a challenging year

April 2021

Written by: Mark Wallace, Executive Director Organizational Culture & International Partners

30 years ago, Christian Horizons Global began our work. That year, Rudy and Sully Rojas said their wedding vows, joined our organization and embarked on their journey supporting children with developmental disabilities in a group home in Guatemala City. Their work has expanded to promote community and church-based programs, preschool education, and economic programs that specifically focus on people with disabilities, touching thousands of lives.

30 years later, Rudy and Sully continue to serve, providing emergency support to the rural Mayan communities hit by two hurricanes. Happy 30th Anniversary Rudy and Sully! Well done good and faithful brother and sister!

Inclusive Education: Beyond Helping Children

Stories | Inclusive Education: Beyond Helping Children

Decemeber 2020

Written by: Mark Wallace, Executive Director Organizational Culture & International Partners

Degefa, who lived in a poor rural area of Ethiopia, was saving for university when he lost his sight in a work-related accident. With his dreams shattered, Degefa etched out a simple living for himself and his new wife, Zenebech, making rope netting.

Ten years and five children later, Degefa was struggling to make ends meet. He decided to go back to grade 10 to learn in Braille, with a goal of going to law school one day. As no school in his area offered disability training, he traveled 22 kilometers into Asella.

To make the journey each day, his 7-year-old son, Moses, would guide him. They would leave home early in the morning and not get home until after 10 pm. Once at the school, Moses would sleep in the back of the classroom. Educators asked why this boy was not attending his own school.

When they heard Degefaâ€™s story, his classmates took up a collection to buy Moses food. They also directed Degefa to Christian Horizons Ethiopia for additional help. At this point, the family was suffering from malnutrition.

Thanks to donors like you, we were able to provide the family with a rented house in Asella so that Degefa, and his children, can easily attend school. His two older children became part of our child sponsorship program.

Degefa and Zenebech received business training and seed funds for their businesses. (Zenebech has a business making injera, Ethiopian flatbread.) With the funds, more time to run the businesses and a larger customer base, they will be able to take over the house rental after one year.

As Zenebech reflects on the change in her family, she says â€œI feel like that was a different life. I feel like I have crossed over into another world, a new life.â€

Global Update

Impact Story Update: Elias

Home | Stories | Impact Story Update: Elias

Woman pouring water into bucket, as young boy washes hands in the bucket.

August 19th, 2020

In our spring newsletter, we shared a story about Elias. We thought we would share this update with you as an example of how our team comes alongside sponsored children even during this time of COVID.

Elias lives with his family in a small home in Assela, Ethiopia. He is very active and is in constant motion around his house. He enjoys the stimulation of moving his body, tapping objects and feeling the vibrations the objects make. Elias had recently started attending school but is now under restrictions due to COVID-19.

Update from his mother:

“Of course, Elias is happier when he is at his school (HACDU) than when he is at home. He enjoys traveling by bus, chatting with other children, playing with different play materials and the school environment, as a whole, gives him better happiness. When he stays at home, he sees very similar things and it gets a little boring. However, the care and follow up provided by Christian Horizons Ethiopia is very essential and I am able to provide him better care than before. I regularly receive supplementary food items like wheat flour, cooking oil, pasta, macaroni and sanitary materials from Christian Horizons Ethiopia. I am really very lucky to access such support during this very tough time. Without this support, I would not be able to sustain my family, especially Elias, during such an inflated market and controlled movement. Elias spends some time playing football and sometimes watching TV and playing with his sister. Like others, I am praying for God for His mighty intervention for the world community and our country. I kindly ask Christian Horizons Ethiopia to extend my best regards to the sponsors of Elias. Thank you!”

Update from his support worker:

“Even though I am not able to visit Elias three times a week as before, I contact [his mother] weekly via telephone to follow up on Elias. I also [occasionally] visit him by wearing my face mask and respecting my physical distance – just to see him since I miss [seeing] him for longer time. I work with [his mother] to give him game activities to keep him in movement during the day for the fact that if he stays in bed or on the sofa for long time, his physical strength and performance will lessen. I also follow the continuation of the activities he has been doing at school. I also strongly communicate and consult with [his mother] about his meal and daily sanitation. I think everything is going well. I also appreciate the support Christian Horizons Ethiopia is providing at home. Finally, I want to present my gratitude to Christian Horizons Global too.

We pray for God without ceasing that He helps those who are suffering from the diseases of COVID-19 and to give comfort for all the families [who have] lost their members by this pandemic. God is good all the time!”

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COVID-19 Sponsor Update

Home | Stories | COVID-19 Sponsor Update

August 19th, 2020 - Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, Horizons Academy and the Child Development Unit (HACDU) has been closed since Monday, March 16, 2020. We are grateful that our Christian Horizons Global team has been able to remain active in providing needed nutritional and educational resources. The monthly support stipend given to families has been doubled since March, using the savings from canceled programs. This extra stipend has been helping families buy needed medications and supplies in a time of inflation and food shortages.

In addition to our support for sponsored children and their families, the local government and Christian Horizons Ethiopia have identified an additional 674 families who are in urgent need in the region. All of these families either have at least one member of the family with a disability, one member of the family who is HIV positive and/or are families of single mothers or elderly caregivers. Through generous donations to our Nutrition fund (and matching funds from a partner organization), our Ethiopian team has been able to give nutritional support to an additional 215 families.

Guatemala

Our team in Guatemala has been working tirelessly to deliver supports, food and health supplies to families in rural and urban communities. Funding through the sponsorship program has allowed them to meet the needs of families that have children sponsored. Each family has essential food and supplies. Some form of schoolwork and even some distanced tutoring have also been provided.

The needs our team has witnessed in these communities is great. Shelter in place rules are being strongly enforced in Guatemala. Our team is able to get into these closed communities due to their connections and permissions from the ministry of health. As they travel about, they pass houses that have white flags flying outside. This is the system being used in Guatemala to let others know there is a need for food in that household. In the communities where our sponsorship program is operating, we have local leaders who can help prioritize the needs. They know which families are most in need and are in a position to follow up. The team in Guatemala is thankful that they have been able to provide for an additional 50 families so far due to generous donations.

A girl in guatemala studying at a school desk

Haiti

Despite their attempts to close their borders, COVID-19 is spreading rapidly throughout Haiti. The health care system is poorly equipped with limited respirators and PPE. Another challenge has been mistrust and stigmatization of people with COVID-19. Many didn’t believe that it would come to Haiti and initially acted out in violence against hospitals and mobile testing units.

Our staff continues to work to provide education and awareness and nutritional support through our partner schools and churches. The food supply is very uncertain right now. For many children, the nutritional support we provide will be their only stable meals. Our partner schools and churches in Haiti have changed their nutrition programs to be drop-ins where families can come and take basic food and supplies home. The rocketing food prices in the community, as well as the increased demand, mean that schools and churches that offered food have changed to sending food packages to the families’ homes with non-perishable staples. Thanks to extra gifts, we have been able to expand the weekly nutrition programs in Archacia, Delmas and Site Soliel.

Nicaragua

The Nicaraguan government is currently not taking emergency measures to contain the virus. Daily life continues much the same as before despite food shortages and climbing COVID-19 cases. Our school programs have been suspended and children are getting worksheets delivered to their homes. Our team members continue to work to provide hope and support during these uncertain times. Nutritional support programs continue to be run through partner schools and churches. To date, there has been one death of a caregiver (mother) of one of the sponsored children due to COVID-19. Sadly, daily reports of secret burials are in the newspapers. We are happy that the support you are providing limits the need for families to work and be in the marketplace. This reduces their chance of exposure.

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Back to School in Guatemala

Home | Stories | Back to School in Guatemala

August 16th, 2018

Written by: Mark Wallace, Director of Christian Horizons Global

A fine layer of volcanic ash covered the school in Lake Amatitlan, Guatemala, just a week ago. And now I sit here with 5-year old preschool student, Esteven and his teacher, Sully, who is also the director of three other inclusive preschools like this one in Central America.

The debris has since been cleaned away and for the most part, life is back to normal. Although evacuation in this community wasn’t needed, being just 15 km away from the Fuego eruption, everyone knows someone who was hurt or displaced by the disaster. In this community, everyone also knows someone who is significantly impacted by urban poverty and involved in drug-related crimes. Life isn’t easy in this corner of the world.

Esteven has been attending school for two years and he is thrilled to be here.

He likes playing games with his friends, Angy and Kendy, at recess. Initially he was hesitant to participate in class as a result of his learning challenges and difficulty speaking, but even still, he follows along with the lessons. Observing from the back of the classroom, I watched as he bravely raised his hand and answered some questions. Adjusting to school hasn’t been easy for Esteven. With time, his teachers have begun to understand him when he speaks, and have learned his likes and dislikes, which has really helped Esteven feel like he belongs in his classroom. It might take him longer than his classmates to learn, but Esteven keeps trying, encouraged by his teachers.

Thanks to the dedication of his teachers at this preschool, next year Esteven will attend the local elementary school. Despite the many factors stacked against him, we know from previous preschool graduates that it is very likely that Esteven, too, will be successful, because of the solid educational foundation he’s received. It’s so much more than knowledge and skills; Esteven has developed a confidence that comes from being welcomed, included and valued. The learning challenges he faces won’t go away. But his self-confidence in his own ability to learn will help motivate him to work hard towards his dream of becoming a police officer.

It costs just $26 a month to help students like Esteven and his classmates be part of important inclusive education programs like this one in Guatemala. There’s no question that Esteven is better off because he’s included. What’s also vital to recognize is the positive impact that including Esteven has on all the other students and teachers in his school.

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We all have a better life when we all can belong.